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Wednesday, September 21, 2016

Coins of Salt in Wounds

While awash with foreign money, as a point of pride Salt in Wounds mints their own coinage. The currency of the city features several distinct features. First, these copper, silver, gold and platinum tokens do not sport portraits but instead are pressed with famous phrases, maxims, and laws spouted by the aristocracy: which phrase is selected for placement on this year’s platinum (and -to a lesser degree- other metals) is a source of much competition and political maneuvering by the Binder-Lords.

In addition, the center of each coin features a small conical point on one side with a small hollow that can accommodate another coin’s point on the reverse face. These are referred to as the ‘tip’ and ‘divet’ respectively. This construction makes Salt in Wounds coins easy to stack securely on top of one another (useful for quick counting and pushing stacks of coin back and forth across a table without risk of toppling). Coins are usually kept in neat rows within pouches with reinforced corners. Out of towners can often be identified by how they improperly shove coins into their pockets where they are liable to jut uncomfortably into flesh (or poke out of fabric). However, some especially cautious merchants are known to deliberately keep the tips of their coin stacks pressing into their skin to be aware if there’s a change in weight resulting from a visit by one of Salt in Wound’s notorious pickpockets or as part of a religious practice known as ‘merchant’s penance.’

Slang Related to Coins

To ‘know the pain of their stack’ refers to an individual with business acumen or is otherwise good with money.

When discussing transactions or jobs; commerce can be described as ‘tip’ which means ‘above board’ and can be discussed openly, while ‘divet’ dealings are secretive, under the table, and usually of dubious legality (if not wholly black market).